Former IU basketball big man Kel’el Ware continuing to be one of the standout rookies with his third double-double: ‘Each game I want to go in and prove more and more’

The NBA Summer League is about to wrap up after what has been an exciting last few weeks of basketball. There have been many standout players when it comes to the 2024 NBA rookie class that are participating, but arguably not one rookie has stood out more over the last few weeks than former IU basketball big man, Kel’el Ware. After being selected at No. 15 by the Miami Heat, Ware has proven thus far that the selection of the former Hoosier has been the right one.

The Miami Heat have played in both the California Classic in Sacramento and currently are in Las Vegas for the NBA2K25 Summer League. Ware has played in a total of five games thus far where he is averaging 18 points, 8.4 rebound, 1.4 assists, and 2.6 blocks per game.

While Ware was dominant in Sacramento, once the Miami Heat traveled to Las Vegas, Ware turned up his play to an even higher level. In the Heat’s 92-79 summer league win over the Dallas Mavericks last night, the former IU basketball product snagged his third double-double this summer with his 24 points, 10 rebound showcase. In the last three games in Las Vegas, Ware is averaging an outstanding 17.3 points on 63.6% FG shooting.

“I feel like my performance today was good,” said Kel’el Ware after his performance last night. “I feel like I impacted it on both ends. Each game I want to go in and prove more and more, so I feel like I am doing that.”

Related: Former IU basketball big man Kel’el Ware continues to be a controversial topic from the NBA Draft, but he has ‘legitimate All-Star potential’ nonetheless

Kel’el Ware is looking to be next former IU basketball product to have a long NBA career

(Photo: Miami Heat Twitter)

In his lone season with the Hoosiers, he averaged 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.5 assists per game. His play last season earned him a spot on the All-Big Ten Second Team. He went from being a player that you often wondered if he liked playing the game of basketball to one of the more dominant and consistent bigs in the Big Ten.

When you look at positional pieces of this Miami Heat team, they really needed to retool their front court just a bit. They extended Bam Adebayo and re-signed Kevin Love, which was a good start, but that has been it thus far this offseason. That is where former IU basketball big man Kel’el Ware factors in the equation. The Heat brought in youth, length, a rim protector, and a legit big that can stretch the floor in draft Ware. In all reality, Ware can play with any front court player on the Heat next season.

“I do have to give a shoutout, Kel’el did a heck of a job,” said the Miami Heat Summer League head coach Dan Bisaccio. “We’re continuing to challenge him defensively. He took that challenge, everything at the rim was contested. We want to continue to see that obviously it’s never enough, but we’re really really happy with anchoring our defense.”

Kel’el Ware is a product of IU basketball head coach Mike Woodson, so any challenge that is thrown his way, he is more than ready. Playing for the Hoosiers, Ware went from being an afterthought to one of the NBA rookie prospects with the most potential. Showing off his skill and upside in the NBA Summer League is on track to paying off when he officially steps onto an NBA court with his Miami Heat teammates.

“It’s summer league, but it’s not just about me,” Ware added. “I am happy the whole team is winning. We are three-and-O so if we can just keep this up, keep taking it farther and father. It’s good to be around this because it gets you ready for the bigger stage, especially being around the atmosphere and just getting used to it.”

Below are highlights and the full interview of Kel’el Ware following his third-straight NBA Summer League double-double.

SEE ALSO: What these 5 IU basketball players need to improve in order to be on 2025 NBA Draft boards

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